CHICKEN, SAUSAGE AND SHRIMP JAMBALAYA

Did you know that the worst thing you can do to cool down your mouth after eating spicy food is drink water? Seems strange, since water is the antidote for fire, but the truth is that water only distributes the heat further throughout your mouth, making it feel even hotter than it is. The best thing to do to cool your mouth down is to take a swig of a dairy product – specifically, milk. I’m not a scientist, but the reasoning is something about the enzymes in the dairy cooling down the spices.

CHICKEN, SAUSAGE AND SHRIMP JAMBALAYA

Before I get to the heat, let’s talk a little bit about why milk is a great choice for many meals. Drinking milk is a super easy way to get more of the very essential nutrients calcium, vitamin D and potassium. Many women are actually deficient in vitamin D due to lack of sunshine in the colder months of the year.

An eight ounce glass of milk also contains as much protein as a large egg. Since as moms, we tend to neglect our own nutrition a little bit, having a glass of milk with dinner goes a long way toward keeping us healthy.

My mom always made sure I drank my milk and it’s always been important to me that the kids drink enough because it’s good for growing bones. Healthy habits like that start as babies and continue throughout adulthood. Now that they’re older, I’m happy to say that they’re pretty good at drinking milk on a regular basis. It’s just a habit that they don’t really think about. They’ll often turn down sugary drinks in favor of milk, and if they’re looking for something a little bit sweeter, they’ll add some chocolate or strawberry syrup. Chocolate milk has always been one of my favorites too.

Now, back to the jambalaya, which is one of our favorite dishes. Over the years I’ve adapted my own recipe for it. It tastes even better than it looks! Here’s the recipe (and don’t forget the nice big glass of milk to go with it!)

CHICKEN, SAUSAGE AND SHRIMP JAMBALAYA

INGREDIENTS

½ cup celery, finely diced

½ cup green bell pepper, finely diced

½ yellow onion, finely diced

3 green bay leaves

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp garlic, finely diced

½ cup red tomatoes, chopped

3 tbs tomato sauce, or more to your liking

12 large shrimp, you can diced them if you like

8 oz sausage, chopped

4 oz chicken, chopped

2 cups minute rice

2 cups chicken broth, if you homemade that’s better

tbs olive oil

1 tbs Cajun seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium sized mixing bowl, take the chicken, shrimp and sausage and generously season them with the Cajun seasoning.

In a medium sized saute pan, saute your veggies on low (until they’re translucent in color), add in the bay leaf, garlic, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce. Cook for 5 minutes, then gradually add the meat mixture, then add in the rice and broth and cook on low for an additional five minutes, or until chicken is fully cook.

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